In an interview to La Vanguardia, the Davis Cup organizer Albert Costa commented on the new format of the team competition. Costa spoke about the criticism around the date chosen to host the event, in late November just after the ATP Finals end.
“Someone says that the end of the year may not be the best time to hold such an event. But I repeat, it is used to happen when some new project appears. Although convincing everyone will be tough, it will be a success”, said Costa.
Costa was always convinced that the Davis Cup format should have changed: “I was a captain of the team (from 2008 to 2011). And at the time I thought: ‘Matches should last three sets’ And you had many withdrawals in the teams.”
“The show will be a global one. How many Spanish fans will have seen on TV the last final between Croatia and France? The very tennis loves. And the previous format was breaking your schedule. You were playing a clay-court tournament, in Estoril, with the heat and at three sets, two days after you go to Vladivostock, on indoor hard court, five sets and with the cold.”
He also commented on the Laver Cup, co-founded by Roger Federer and his agent Tony Godsick: “Laver Cup is a Ryder Cup version for tennis. It regroups the European players against the rest of the world. It’s not an official tournament.
It seems an exhibition event.” Costa feels that it will be a festival of tennis: “The best countries will be there. Another thing is that some player misses because of an injury or whatever it is. It’s clear that some top ten will not be there.”
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